The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the National Allergy Centre of Excellence led research in partnership with 10 paediatric public hospitals across Australia. Primary source: mcri.edu.au

The evaluation assessed 1,275 infants under 18 months old, with 778 undergoing an oral food challenge. During a food challenge, infants receive increasing doses of peanut under medical supervision to check for an allergic reaction. The study found that 35 per cent of infants with a recent reaction to peanut and a positive allergy test did not react during an oral food challenge. The 35 per cent of infants who had no reaction were considered peanut tolerant and could have their allergy label removed. Primary source: mcri.edu.au

"We found more than one third of infants who were suspected to have peanut allergy based on their history and initial tests no longer reacted when they underwent a supervised food challenge," said Dr Tim Brettig, MCRI Population Allergy Group Senior Research Clinician and ADAPT Medical Lead. "Being able to identify those children early allows them to avoid an unnecessary allergy label and the burden of avoiding peanut." Primary source: mcri.edu.au

The study found that 65 per cent of babies had a reaction during the oral food challenge, and 12 per cent of babies experienced anaphylaxis. All episodes of allergic reaction during the food challenges were safely managed by the teams conducting them. Among those who reacted, 97.5 per cent of babies successfully started peanut oral immunotherapy at a dose guided by their challenge results. Primary source: mcri.edu.au

"Oral food challenges are not currently used routinely for every infant with suspected peanut allergy," said Professor Kirsten Perrett, MCRI Population Allergy Group Leader and NACE Director. "But our results show that clinical history and allergy testing alone were not enough to accurately diagnose peanut allergy in many cases." She added that "a supervised oral food challenge should be routinely considered to confirm the diagnosis before an infant starts oral immunotherapy." Primary source: mcri.edu.au

Infants presented at participating hospitals across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Researchers from John Hunter Children’s Hospital, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, SA Women’s and Children’s Network, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Campbelltown Hospital, Perth Children’s Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Children’s Health Queensland and Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick contributed to the findings. Primary source: mcri.edu.au

The findings are part of a study evaluating the ADAPT Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Program, which was launched in 2024 by the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and hosted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. The ADAPT program is the first peanut allergy treatment program offered in Australian public hospitals for infants outside of a clinical trial setting. The National Allergy Centre of Excellence and the National Allergy Council were funded by the Federal Government in 2022. Primary source: mcri.edu.au

Why It Matters

Peanut allergy affects about one in 30 children in Australia. "With peanut allergy one of the most common childhood food allergies, it’s particularly important that we have an accurate diagnosis when a baby first shows signs of a possible peanut allergy," Perrett said. "We want to reduce the burden of food allergy for children and their families, and the ADAPT Program is a step in this direction." Primary source: mcri.edu.au